Comedian Park Se-mi is lending a hand to young people caught up in South Korea’s rental deposit scam crisis, pitching in to improve a home so a young victim can make a safe, fresh start.
As an ambassador for “Todak Todak: Building Hope,” a youth housing initiative co-run by Habitat Korea and Kakao Pay, Park rolled up her sleeves for a build day on Sept. 14. She helped repair the home and refresh the space so the resident could settle into a secure environment. A week later, on Sept. 21, she returned to celebrate move-in and cheer them on.
The recipient had been stuck with an unlivable unit riddled with severe leaks and mold. Adding to the hardship, they were defrauded by their landlord in a jeonse deposit scheme, unable to recover their deposit while still on the hook for monthly rent on a place they couldn’t live in.
Timed ahead of World Habitat Day (Oct. 6), the volunteer effort was captured in a video released Oct. 1 on Park’s YouTube channel.
“As someone who went through a jeonse scam myself, I was grateful to meet another young victim, share that experience, and actually help,” Park said. “I’m only adding a small push as an ambassador, but if more people join the ‘Todak Todak: Building Hope’ campaign, it can make a real difference in giving young people safe homes.”
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)